April 2020 SSD Benefits Statistics Report Update

What do the April 2020 SSD benefits statistics report numbers from the Social Security Administration tell us about this month? Here, you’ll learn how disability beneficiary numbers and average pay amounts changed in the past 30 days. These reports show what the federal government’s disability insurance and welfare programs pay to beneficiaries in all age groups nationwide. Our statistical snapshot for April reviews program data for both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

April 2020 SSD Benefits Statistics Update

Total Number of Social Security Disability Beneficiaries: 9,902,000

Disabled Workers: 8,340,000

Spouses of Disabled Workers: 112,000

Children of Disabled Workers: 1,450,000

Average Monthly Social Security Disability Benefit Amount: $1,121.75

Disabled Workers: $1,258.78

Spouses of Disabled Workers: $359.63

Children of Disabled Workers: $392.44

How the April 2020 SSD Benefits Statistics Report Affects Beneficiaries

The April 2020 SSD benefits statistics report shows that total beneficiaries increased since March. In fact, it’s the first month-over-month increase in total disability beneficiaries since April 2015. Still, we think it’s too soon to chalk this increase up to coronavirus-related layoffs and business closings. It takes the SSA about 3-5 months to process every new disability claim. So, we went directly to the source and looked at how many people applied for SSDI in November 2019. Sure enough, 178,508 disabled workers submitted new benefit applications that month. That’s a 15% increase compared to the total new disabled worker claims for October 2019. The April 2020 SSD benefits statistics report shows less than 1 in 4 new applicants got approved for benefits (23%).

Now, let’s take a closer look at how numbers changed for each beneficiary category this month. We noted 5,000 fewer disabled workers in current-payment status for April, while spousal beneficiaries stayed flat. The children of disabled workers category, however, added another 6,000 beneficiaries to this month’s rolls. This growth made up for any other category losses shown in the April SSD benefits statistics report.

April 2020 SSD Benefits Statistics: Looking Deeper at the Monetary Stats

Average payments either went down or stayed flat across all groups listed in the April 2020 SSD benefits statistics report. Disabled workers lost $.11 from this month’s average payments, while spouses lost $.94 compared to March. Payments to children of disabled workers stayed flat month-over-month, on average. Overall, these changes brought the average disability payment nationwide down by $.45 compared to last month’s report.

Not sure why these amounts change slightly each month? It’s not for the reasons you might think. Once you’re on disability, your payment amount only goes up in years when the federal government approves a cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA). They announce COLA increases in October, which go into effect the following January. So, these monthly shifts in benefit amounts show the difference in monthly salaries people earned before they stopped working. In other words, if more minimum-wage earners join next month’s disability rolls, it might bring average monthly payments down a percentage. But if more high-earning employees become disabled and start drawing benefits, that month’s average payment goes up.

Now, let’s look at how the April 2020 SSD benefits statistics report’s average payment compares to newly approved SSD claims. In April, men newly approved for SSD qualified for about $1,561.16 each month. Women, on the other hand, qualified for $1,264.04 in SSD per month. That shows the average wage gap between men and women in America is about 23.5% across all age groups.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Data in the April 2020 Report

Now, let’s look at current SSI beneficiary numbers and average payments in the April 2020 SSD benefits statistics report. Every age group currently getting SSI benefits shrank compared to last month’s report. Seniors aged 65 and up lost 4,000 SSI beneficiaries this month. Children under 18 came in a close second, with 5,000 fewer beneficiaries on April’s rolls. Working-age recipients also fell by 13,000 month-over-month. These all add up to 22,000 total SSI beneficiaries struck off this month’s rolls:

Total SSI beneficiaries: 8,053,000 (-22,000)

Children under 18 receiving SSI: 1,127,000 (-5,000)

SSI recipients aged 18-64: 4,628,000 (-13,000)

SSI recipients aged 65+: 2,298,000 (-4,000)

While beneficiary numbers dropped, all SSI payments went up in the April 2020 SSD benefits statistics report. SSI beneficiaries aged 65+ got a $.25 raise this month, on average. SSI recipients aged 18-64 got paid $.69 more, while average payments to minor children rose $8.99 in April.

You May Qualify for Legal Assistance

Filing your application through a Social Security attorney triples your chances for approval the first time you apply. Attorneys in our network can provide free, no-obligation legal assistance to you directly over the phone.

Every lawyer that helps people apply for disability works on contingency. That means if the SSA denies your claim, then you owe your lawyer $0. Most people without legal assistance wait up to two years and go through multiple appeals before they’re approved for benefits. Unless you can go years with no income, a lawyer is your best shot at getting disability benefits paid faster. And if your case does win, you’ll only pay a small, one-time fee.

Ready to see if you may qualify? Click the button below to start your free disability benefits evaluation now:

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